CSR (2006 Women's Volleyball Outlook)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR AUGUST 29, 2006

(Editor's Note: Third in a Series of Seven Fall Sports Previews)

2006 Women's Volleyball Outlook

Over the last six years, the Calvin women’s volleyball team has produced an impressive MIAA won-loss record of 73-15. That mark ranks just one victory behind the 74-14 mark put up by Alma for the best overall record by an MIAA school during that span. Despite the impressive record, the Knights have been unable to record an MIAA regular season title during that six-year run.
Coming off a 30-9 campaign the year before, Calvin has hopes of ending its MIAA title drought in 2006 but realizes nothing will be handed its way.

“Our league has been very competitive over the last three or four years and I expect more of the same,” said head coach Amber Warners who is preparing for her fifth season at the helm of the Knights. “Our immediate goal is to win an MIAA championship but we’ll need a very strong consistent effort to do so. Once again, I think there are several teams in our league capable of winning the title.”

One title Calvin did win last fall was its second straight MIAA Tournament crown which allowed the Knights to advance to the NCAA III Tournament for the third time in the last five years. Calvin opened the NCAA III Tournament with victories over Hiram and Millikin before falling to host Wittenberg in an NCAA III Tournament “Sweet 16” round match.

“We’ve done a very good job of peaking at the end of the season the last two years,” said Warners. “That’s good but we’d like to make it better and start out strong from the get-go this fall. Last year it took us 3-4 weeks to come together. If we want to be the team we’d like to be this fall, we need to develop a mental toughness right from our opening match.”

Calvin will certainly not be without talent or veteran leadership as the Knights return nine letterwinners and four starters from last year’s club. Leading the team will be tri-captains Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA/Unity Christian High School), Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH/Munroe Falls HS) and Katie Zondervan (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian HS).

A 5-10 senior outside hitter, Vogel 39th in the final 2005 NCAA III statistics in kills-per-game (4.39) and compiled an impressive .324 attack percentage, en route to earning first team All-MIAA honors. During the 2005 season, Vogel was a two-time MIAA Player of the Week. A talented all-around athlete, Vogel is also a two-time All-MIAA selection in track and field and holds Calvin and MIAA records in the triple jump. This past May, Vogel was a member of Calvin’s All-America 4x100 meter relay team that placed eighth at the national meet.

A 5-9 senior outside hitter, Kalb is looking to bounce back from a disappointing junior campaign that saw her miss all but the opening 12 matches of the season because of injuries. As a freshman in 2003, Kalb was named the MIAA’s Freshman of the Year and landed a spot on the All-MIAA second team. She then earned honorable mention recognition from the MIAA coaches in 2004 before suffering through an injury-plagued 2005 season. Kalb has quick leaping ability and explosive power and appears to be injury free heading into the 2006 season. This summer, Kalb spent several weeks touring through Turkey on an Athletes-In-Action volleyball team that included several Division I players.

A 5-6 junior setter, Zondervan is a two-time first team All-MIAA selection. In 2005, Zondervan finished third nationally in assists-per-game (13.43) and established a Calvin single-season record for assists (1,840). In a conference match over Olivet last October, Zondervan also established a Calvin single-match record for service aces (14).

Other returning letterwinners include senior Katy Luimes (Caledonia, Ont./Hamilton District Christian HS), juniors Molly Krikke (Greewich, OH/South Central HS) and Sarah Ernst (Fort Wayne, IN/Concordia Lutheran HS) and sophomores Jessica Garlick (Portage/Kalamazoo Christian HS), Stacie Lippert (St. Louis, MI/St. Louis HS) and Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA/Central Valley Christian HS).

Luimes is a 5-11 middle-hitter. A year ago, Luimes averaged 1.1 kills-per-game off the bench. According to Warners, Luimes could be a surprise player this year. “Katy has improved tremendously during her three year at Calvin and if she continues that improvement, she could turn some heads this fall,” said Warners. “She’s one of several players that give our team great depth.”

A 5-11 middle-hitter, Krikke stepped into a starting role last year and thrived, landing a spot on the All-MIAA second team. In overall play, Krikke averaged 2.76 kills-per-game along with a .279 hitting percentage. She also finished 39th nationally in blocks-per-game (1.31), racking up a team-high 178 total blocks.

Ernst was a valuable back-row player for the Knights last fall, averaging 1.28 digs-per-game while also accumulating 26 service aces. Lippert also played a key role in the back-row, averaging 2.13 digs-per-game and contributing 33 service aces.

A 5-11 outside hitter, Garlick battled through injuries last year to average 1.23 kills and 0.68 blocks-per-game.

DeGroot made the biggest impact among Calvin’s freshman class in 2005, sliding into the starting libero slot and accumulating a team-best 697 digs (5.09 average) along with 52 service aces. For her efforts, DeGroot was named to the All-MIAA second team and was voted the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. DeGroot will also likely serve as Calvin’s back-up setter this fall.

DeGroot was the third consecutive player from Calvin to receive the MIAA Freshman of the Year Award. Whether that streak continues remains to be seen but Warners does feel that her incoming freshman class is a talented one.

“Our recruiting class is a very talented one,” said Warners. “At this point I’d rather not single out anyone but I am confident that at least two or three freshmen will make an immediate impact on our varsity team.”

With nine returning letterwinners and a strong freshman class, Warners has the luxury of depth. “This year we’ll have players coming off the bench at every position that are just as talented as our starters,” said Warners. “One of the things that will allow for is for greater flexibility with our sets and alignments. That should benefit our team down the road.”

A talented roster will also create different roles for different players. “I think another one of our big keys will be team chemistry and how individuals accept their roles,” said Warners. “I think we’ll have more players receiving playing time and that means we’ll need every player to support one another.”

Calvin will open its season on September 1 and 2 at the Mount Union Invitational - a tournament the Knights won in 2005. The Mount Union Invitational will be one of four regular season tournaments Calvin will compete in during the year as they will also compete at the Wittenberg Border Battle Tournament September 15 and 16, the Millikin Slagell Classic October 20 and 21 and at Calvin’s own Midwest Challenge Invitational.
The Wittenberg Border Battle Tournament will include matches against national powers Ohio Northern and Wittenberg as well as matches against Denison and Capital. Ohio Northern, Wittenberg and Capital all reached the NCAA III Tournament in 2005 with Wittenberg advancing to the eventual tournament semifinals in Salem, Virginia. The tournament at Millikin will allow Calvin to face national power Central College (IA) and also face Millikin in a rematch of a second round NCAA III Tournament match from last year.

The Calvin Midwest Challenge will act as an exchange tournament with Hope. During the tournament, Calvin will face Alma and Kalamazoo in conference matches but also face challenging non-conference opponents Baldwin-Wallace and Muskingum in non-conference matches.

“Our non-conference schedule is loaded,” said Warners. “We won’t be lacking for challenges, that’s for sure.”

Calvin’s conference schedule opens on September 6 with a road match at Tri-State. Calvin’s home opener will be on September 19 when it hosts rival Hope. The MIAA Tournament is scheduled for November 1, 3 and 4. Although the league tournament will not factor into the MIAA title, it will factor into the league’s automatic qualifier to the 62-team NCAA III Tournament based on a system of placement points earned through victories in the regular season and in the league tournament.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Aug 29 17:48:38 2006